In fact, today’s post just might make you appreciate flowers more than ever. Without the usual connotations that come with it. These flower pictures are the work of American photographer David Lachapelle, and while they might not be as geeky as the flowers Robin wrote about some time last year, they will certainly catch your eye and keep you hooked as well.

Lachapelle calls his work “Earth Laughs in Flowers”. Obviously, the photographs have flowers – all sorts – in focus, but it is the surrounding details that make the difference. And such a huge difference does the setups make!

Forget mushy and sloppy flower arrangements. Think vivid, dark, brilliant – all exploding in one image! Think cigarette butts, dismembered dolls, water guns, and ripe fruit that looks like the flavor is bursting out of them. Oh, and don’t forget the mobile phone and medication.

Lachapelle’s work is more than about the universal symbol of the month of February. It “explores the fragility of society and ideas of vice and vanity”. It might be difficult to internalize that concept without seeing the photos, but once you go through the gallery below, I trust that you will not walk away without getting the message.

Make sure to click on the thumbnails for the full Earth Laughs in Flowers experience.

The work that caught my attention features drops of water refracting the earth, or at least part of it.

World in a Drop of Water

How about a couple of superheroes in a drop of water? Well, technically, it is not the superhero that can be seen, but the emblem. It is still one heck of a viewing experience, though. Here’s the first of the two superheroes in a drop of water: Batman.

Batman in a Drop of Water

I’ve never been a huge Spiderman fan, but this drop of water is something else.

Spiderman in a Drop of Water

The artist’s other pieces are mainly of planets – Jupiter and Mars, for example. They are no less beautiful than the others, but I am hoping that he will come up with more photos of superheroes in a drop of water.

Oh, and if you want prints of his work, you can purchase them. Even better, you can get in touch with him if you have a particular subject that you want him to take photos of. Here’s more of Marcus Reugels.

Have you heard about this new camera that lets you focus the picture after it’s been taken? It’s called the Lytro camera, and it was dreamed up by a genius from Stanford who wants to help you capture perfect moments on film without having to wait for the focus. Instead, you can choose any focal point you want after the fact. My mind = blown.

I could attempt to explain how it works, but to a non-photog expert like me, it’s all Greek. All that matters is that somehow the camera manages to capture the entire light field of whatever’s in front of it — in three dimensions. And somehow, this doesn’t take up any more file size than a traditional digital photo would.

Check out this demo image, and loads more of them over at Lytro’s website:

Click on different parts of the image, and it will instantly change to focus on that part of the picture. For the full effect, try clicking on one of the figures in the foreground, and then click one of the trees in the background.

Imagine the freedom that this will offer to photographers! “Point and shoot” will finally be a 100% applicable term. If you’re using a 3D-friendly camera and screen, you’ll even be able to shift the image’s orientation in three dimensions.

The first Lytro camera is scheduled to launch sometime later this year, and its price tag is supposed to be comparable to other digital cameras currently in the market.

This time, superhero grandma Mamika is back with a huge bang and a partner to boot. Mister Papika is Super Mamika’s suitor and boy, do they look awesome together!

A little background on Frederika, the real person behind Super Mamika…she was born 20 years before World War II. While she didn’t have a square inch of superhero uniform during the war, she did her own part in helping those that needed help the most. She saved the lives of 10 people, hiding Jewish people at her own risk. If that isn’t being a real life superhero, then I don’t know what is.

I love this photo of Super Mamika. The dark sky in the background combined with the playful aspect of blowing bubbles – brilliant!

And here’s another one with the duo relaxing. Isn’t that sweet?

Mister Papika “showing off”.

Even superheroes need to do mundane things such as ironing. I think Mister Papika needs a lesson or two in equality, though. ;)

Looking at those photos, it is easy to see how the “therapy” worked to Frederika’s advantage. Even a younger person would forget about depression if he underwent a similar therapy, don’t you think?

More fun photos at My Modern Met.

Dubbed Legotron, Mark I, the device is a 4×5 camera and is totally made out of LEGO bricks. Take a look at the finished product and be amazed.

Okay, that may not be the slimmest, sleekest, and most stylish camera that you can think of, but hey, it’s made of LEGO bricks! Of course, he also had to put a lens in, as well as a film holder. Here are the specs, courtesy of Cary.

• I have no clue how many pieces are in this camera
• It’s dimensions are roughly 7″x6.5″x7″
• The main parts are a Main box, internal box, film holder/ground glass slot, lens board, lens.
• The lens is a 127mm ƒ4.7 I got on ebay for ~40 dollars
• The lensboard is two Plates deep and fits perfectly in the slot I built for it (though, I cut it down to one plate in the center to actually mount the lens).
• Focus is achieved by sliding the internal box forward and backward.

Okay, I have to admit – I got lost somewhere in the description of the lens. ;)

So never mind that he does not know how many LEGO pieces he used (yeah, sacrilege for some, I know).  This is still one awesome piece, and it works!  Take a look at this photo, courtesy of Legotron.

Isn’t that a beautiful shot?

If you need more information about the creation of Legotron, Mark I, visit Cary’s blog. Oh, and he is planning on creating version 2.

Night vision cameras are super devices that have been used in some super situations.  A few examples include the Paris Hilton sex tape, Jame Gumb’s creepy use of night vision in Silence of the Lambs, and a funny scene involving night vision from the hilarious movie, Step Brothers.

That said, there’s an issue with night vision cameras which, up until now, no one has solved with any degree of success.  That issue?  The fact that night vision camera’s only capture images in a monochrome green color.

Finally someone has tackled a major societal issue by creating a night vision camera capable of taking photographs in color.

The Nanosystem Research Division of AIST (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology Japan), finally came out of the dark, displaying their new camera which can take color photos in the dark.

Using a highly sensitive infrared technology, the camera can take real-time color video in the dark!  Further, in using advanced algorithms which analyze reflected wavelengths from objects of different colors, the camera fills images with colors and not the disgusting green hue night vision enthusiasts have grown to know.

While still in development, the creators plan to make it commercially avaialable to all by the end of 2011.  Prior to doing so, the camera needs to be made both smaller and more durable for every day use.

Have you used night vision?  Would you consider investing in a color night vision camera?  Why/why not?

ubergizmo

Evidently not.  Two women thought it a good idea to strap a camera to their rears to see what happens behind their backs, specifically if guys look at their back(side).

The two ladies strolled around the Los Angeles area with a “hidden ass cam.”  Their goal?  To capture all the looks received as they walked around.

What the video, which has nearly 1.2 million hits on YouTube, shows are women, men, and  West Hollywood Jesus all give the women’s rears longing gazes.

The “Rear View Girls” are a pair from New Zealand named Jessie and Reanin.  When watching the video, if you’re curious, the song playing in the background of the backside video experiment is “Something Bigger, Something Better” by Amanda Blank.

Without further adieu, here’s the video:

One thing to note, the camera can easily be seen on the women’s jeans.  Genius material these two are not.

What do you think?  Have the women stumbled across something truly groundbreaking?  Is it any surprise to anyone that the women’s bottoms received numerous looks as they flaunted their “assets” through the streets of Los Angeles?

(source / Geekologie)

This photo is of Siberian Actinobacteria, which is supposed to anywhere from 400,000 to 600,000 years old. Ancient is an understatement! What’s even more amazing is that these organisms live in permafrost and they do DNA repair even in that state!

This is La Llareta, or Yareta. Is it a rock covered in moss? It may look like it, but it is actually a shrub which has so many tiny branches packed together. The green color is actually its leaves. It is said that the branches is so dense that it can support you if you stand on top of it. This shrub can be found in South America – 15,000 feet above sea level!

This tree is located in Sweden, and has been there for about 9,550 years old. It’s called Spruce Gran Picea.

Going to the United States, you’ll also see really old living things. This is a clonal colony of Quaking Aspens, which are 80,000 years old. If trees could talk, I wonder what stories they would tell!

Here is another really old tree – a Japanese Cedar which could be anywhere from 2,180 to 7,000 years old. That gnarly bark is so beautiful, don’t you think?

Rachel Sussman’s work perfectly underlines the fact that we are but a small part of this world, and that leaves me amazed on this Friday morning.

These photographs are the work of Cecelia Webber, a photographer whose usual subjects are not really plants. Before I talk more about them, why don’t you take a look at them first? Here’s a tip: look really really closely.

Are they flowers or what?

According to Cecelia Webber, she accidentally thought of this idea when she shot a nude figure against a black background. When she looked at the result, she couldn’t ignore its close resemblance to a petal, so she “just went with it”!

“Going with it” couldn’t have gone any better for Webber, as her work is now admired by many. What she does is to take nude photos, with her models in all sorts of unusual positions. (Now don’t worry – this is still safe for work.) After she takes the shots, she uses Photoshop to overlay colors to make the finished product look very much like flowers. As you can see, Webber has really done an excellent job with these photos. They’d make really cool wall art, not to mention great conversation pieces. You can buy them from her web site.

Before you scoff at my suggestion, try reading through the end of this post to see some of the most amazing images of drinks that you can find at any bar. Whiskey, scotch, champagne, Bloody Mary, Pina Colada – these drinks are easily recognizable when served in a glass. You might have a difficult time pinpointing which is which if you take a look at BevShots’ artwork, though. BevShots is a company that has fun taking drops of your favorite drink, placing them under a microscope, and then taking photos of them. The result? Psychedelic images that pass for modern art.

I am not an art expert, but I do know that any of the pieces featured in their web site will be a great conversation piece. Not only do the images incite comments, but the whole idea behind their creation will certainly inspire interesting conversation. Take a look at this short promotional video clip to find out more.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, here are some of my favorite prints. (A pity they don’t have a Jack-Coke combination, but they do have a pretty whiskey photo, though.)

You can order stock prints starting at $24.99; and if you are picky, you can have them customize your choice.

Have you ever in your life seen anything so freaky? It’s like concept art from an alien invasion movie. Seriously: wow.

This is no visual effect. According to NASA, it’s an actual supercell storm cloud photographed this past July over Glasgow, Montana. If it looks like the biggest tornado ever, there’s good reason. Apparently it’s a “rotating updraft” spanning several kilometers, and dropping heavy rain and hurricane-force winds. NASA says that in this type of storm cell, it’s common for the outer edges to sport “jagged, sculptured clouds” while “wind swept dust and rain” are what’s coming down out of the center. That tiny little thing on the ground is a tree, and I’m thinking it’s not long for this world.

I had no idea that such things as this ever happened on our planet. I mean, it looks like a hurricane over dry land. Or a big honkin’ flying saucer coming straight down for a landing. Or maybe the foot of a giant space elephant, about to stomp the Earth. I’ve got a million of ‘em…

What’s it look like to you?

This illustrated book is filled to the brim with photographs of (literally) tiny things that we might be taking for granted.  The book features the art of the colored scanning electron micrograph (SEM), wherein the original subjects have been magnified.  The number of magnification?  Some go as “low” as 22 while others go as high as 22 million!

Here’s a sampling of what’s in store.  This is the book cover, with the technologically-inclined ant holding a microchip.  The image has been magnified 22 times.

Have you ever paid any attention to dust in your home? If you’re like me, you probably never notice it – until you get a “sudden” asthma attack. Those who border on the obsessive when it comes to cleaning would probably be able to describe dust (its properties, its effects, etc.) in detail, but I assure you, no description will come close to what Mr. Broll has captured below.

Now I dare you tell me that that isn’t awe-inspiring!  Apparently, what we see is an image of household dust containing an assortment of things including cat fur, synthetic and wool fibers, a pollen grain, plant, insect scales and an insect.  Can you identify which is which?  It’s amazing what 22 million times of magnification can do!

Here’s another image that caught my attention.  For some reason, it reminded me of StarCraft. ;)

This image is far from what I thought it was, though.  It actually is cigarette paper, the blue stuff being crystals that are added to the material to keep the cigarette burning once lit. At least I got the crystal part right!

For more previews, check out the article at The Daily Mail.

The new edition of the book is due to be released by Firefly Books before the end of the month.  If, like me, you want a copy when it does come out, set aside USD19.95.

If you are a true Star Wars fan and you wonder what it would be like to be on one of the planets like Hoth or Helska surrounded by cold and technology then Norwegian island Spitsbergen is the place for you. Spitsbergen lies in the Arctic circle where the sun is always above the horizon from late April to late August. From mid November till end January it is civil polar night meaning that artificial light must be used at all times as there is no sun during the day.

There are several satellite dishes and radars build on the huge empty landscape with only ice and snow to be seen.

Norwegian photographer Christian Houge is fascinated with the huge contrast between primal landscape and technology. He has traveled at least seven times to Spitsbergen and took photos depicting a huge isolated area with only technology as evidence of human presence.

Spitsbergen would sure make one heck of a different vacation destination. I’m not a fan of Star Wars in the sense that I like the movies but I do not need to own the DVD’s. What I like about sci-fi movies are the unreality of it, with Star Trek it’s the Voyager ship, I always fantasize when watching on how it would be like to live on a spaceship. With Star Wars it was the planets, especially the fact that the environments where so primal but yet with the most advanced technology. I still wonder about that.

The photographs of Christian Houge show that here on earth we are not far away from the fiction, which is logical considering we pour creativity and ideas from our surroundings.

View more photos by Christian Houge

Robert Overweg is an artistic photographer whose “photos” are screenshots from the virtual worlds of video games. The remarkable thing is, his photographer’s eye somehow manages to make his screens look like real-world artsy photos. But while his palette is nifty, his subject matter is what makes it really interesting…

Using realistic game worlds like those you can explore in Left 4 Dead 2, Modern Warfare 2, and Half-Life 2, Overweg has created numerous collections like “Glitches,” which finds art in unintended errors in a game, or “The End of the Virtual World,” which finds the edges of maps and depicts them as if the world is flat and you’ve come to the end of it. He also has a (NSFW) collection called “People I Have Met,” which has portraits of extremely realistic NPCs. You can find more at Overweg’s website.

His results are somewhere between high art and geeky cool. But Overweg himself is the real deal; he holds actual exhibitions in L.A., Germany, the Netherlands, and more.

Apparently, Nimoy started dabbling in photography when he was a mere 13 years old – and he did it the old fashioned way. He was (and is) totally serious about photography that he studied with Robert Heinecken at the University of California in Los Angeles. And, in the mid-70s (I was still pure energy then), Nimoy thought about shifting careers – from acting to photography!

While I am sure we’re all glad he didn’t do that, his talent in this area cannot be denied. In fact, his first solo photography exhibit will be launched on the 1st of August. Dubbed Secret Selves, the exhibit features 26 color photographs, 11 of which are life size. The exhibit will be held at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.

The idea behind the collection of photos is that people have hidden natures. Nimoy based this on Plato’s Symposium, which states that human beings are creatures with two sides (faces, if you will). The gods tore these sides apart, leaving man to forever search for the other half.

So what Nimoy did when shooting was to encourage his subjects to show that hidden part of themselves. Very interesting concept. Forget that his name has “nerd” in it (Le-nerd!) – one can’t expect less from Leonard Nimoy! The A.V. Club interviewed him regarding this exhibit, and I think you will find his responses quite enthralling.

But rules are rules, so instead as a leadpic for this post you get…

… original ‘A New Hope’ Stormtrooper helmets.

If last week you received Slave Leia car-wash and Carrie Fisher sunbathing on set, today we have to speak business. Real business. I mean, why otherwise the [NSFW] tag? That’s right, Zeh Germans were at again and what does that mean? Boobs!

Hey, you! Yes, you at the back there! Behave, we already had enough of drool here at FG in last days!

Daniel Josefsohn, a German photographer is the subject of an exposition at the Kunstverein in Hamburg, Germany. Topic of the exhibition: naked women with Stormtrooper helmet.

Additionally the German photographer created a skateboard limited series with yes, you guessed correctly…

Only 50 boards are produced and all are numbered by the artist. Other than your visit to Germany, you’ll also have to bring some €350 to get yours. If you aren’t too late yet.

In the mid-90’s, during an auction from an old school, I purchased 3 metal lockers and to my surprise one of them held a real, full size articulated skeleton,” he says. “For years I had it displayed in one of the rooms in my studio and I often wondered what else I could do with it. Finally the idea came to me to explore the idea of disassembling the skeleton and rearranging the bones, and from that process came the series ‘Stop the Violence.’

The result is amazing art by Francois Robert a Swiss photographer.

More pictures after the jump and in the gallery (click any image).

More amazing art available at Francois’ website.

1. Go Black and White. There are some photos that look good in color, but there are also some photos that become more powerful when turned black and white. The best photos to turn black and white are those photos that have high dark and light contrasts, and/or shadows. Black and white is also good to use if you want to convey strong emotions in a photo. Since there are no colors to distract you, you only see what the photo is really all about.

2. Lomo-fy it! When in doubt, lomo-fy! Sometimes, giving a photo that over-saturated, colorful, whimsical feel is a good way to make a photo look better. This technique can be used on casual snapshots which don’t really require a photo to be technically perfect (i.e. good cropping, good and sharp focus). You can download Lomo Actions for Photoshop from the Internet, by the way.

3. Go HDR. HDR (or high dynamic range imaging) is a technique that allows greater dynamic range of luminances between lightest and darkest area of an image (via Wikipedia). In MY terms, it  simply makes your photo look like a nice, artistic painting. There is a manual (and hard) way of applying the HDR effect to your photos. You basically need a tripod, and you need to shoot the same image in different exposures (i.e. -1, 0, +1, the more range the better). Then you merge them into an HDR image.  That sounds a little complicated, right? But don’t worry, you can actually download free Pseudo HDR actions for Photoshop all over the net. Using HDR is best for landscapes and places. I’ve tried using it on people and portraits, but it didn’t turn out so well.

4. Crop it! Sometimes, the only thing a photo needs to become a stronger photo is good cropping. When I took photography lessons a few years back, one thing I learned was that a good subject makes a good photo. Make sure that your photo has one focus. Too many subjects in a photo can make it look cluttered and usually, removing some elements can actually improve a photo. Like the photo below for example. The girl on the left does nothing for the photo since I was taking a photo of my two cute nieces. So better if I just crop her out.

5. Sharpen. Like cropping, sometimes, all you need to improve a photo is by sharpening. Sharpening increases contrast among the elements in a photo and makes objects pop out and even improve color. Beware with over sharpening though since it might give your photo too much noise, making it grainy. But! Sometimes, adding noise to a photo is good, too, and actually gives character. See how the panda looks more alive, and the color back is more pronounced in the photo below.

There are actually other editing techniques out there, but these five (5) are the ones I use most of the time. My most favorite technique is using a High Pass Sharpen action (which I sadly can’t find the link where I originally downloaded it from), paired with cropping.

But you know, as much I love editing photos and could spend hours and hours editing, when it comes to photography, the best photographs are those that barely need editing at all. So remember, when taking a photo remember these 3 basic rules (which I learned from Photoworks): Have a theme. Emphasize it. Simplify.

[ Photography by GeekGirlManila, photos taken with a Lumix LX3 ]

]]> http://www.forevergeek.com/2010/04/5_techniques_to_make_your_photos_look_good/feed/ 0 http://www.forevergeek.com/2010/01/oldest_commercial_camera_to_be_auctioned_in_vienna_got_1m/ http://www.forevergeek.com/2010/01/oldest_commercial_camera_to_be_auctioned_in_vienna_got_1m/#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 10:40:56 +0000 andy http://www.forevergeek.com/?p=15935 Do you count photography as one of your geek passions? In the past couple of years I can certainly raise my hand to that, being interested in the principles of both film and digital photography, technical aspects, composition and art.

It’s all very well drooling over the latest Canon or Nikon DSLR whose body alone costs a few thousand dollars without even adding some decent lenses, but that outlay counts as nothing when up against an auction to be held in Vienna later this year.

The world’s oldest commercial production camera, the “Daguerreotype”, is a wooden sliding-box camera made in Paris in 1839 by Alphonse Giroux.

There are only a few of these cameras still surviving, possibly because not many were produced in the first place as, not unlike today, technology advanced pretty quickly and the price of newer cameras dropped.

It’s an amazing piece of photographic history, which is why the estimated auction price is a minimum half-a-million Euros ($700k) rising to a cool €700k ($1m). It even comes with the original German manual.

You won’t be taking this to the bar to photograph your mates ready for Facebook embarrassment. Well, yeah, duh!

Amusement Magazine has the answer, it seems, with some stunning high resolution imagery of the fixtures and fittings required for each game.

Here we have Tetris’ bricks, Arkanoid’s steel balls, Pong’s racquets and score digits, Super Mario’s mushroom and Sonic’s rings.

Read the stories of bricks and balls imported from Russia and East Berlin, mushroom farms and Japanese metal foundries.

Forget everything you thought you knew about these video games. The truth is now out. Check out the original hi-res photos.